Your guide to grow and flourish as a science teacher!
The past two decades have seen a paradigm shift in science education, thanks in large part to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which advocate a move away from procedural lab investigations and direct instruction and toward increased emphasis on reasoning, sensemaking, phenomena exploration, problem solving, and collaboration. Under this new paradigm, students are learning real science as scientists practice it, so that more and more students are actively investigating questions and pursuing solutions of their own making. As part of the Five to Thrive series for early-career educators, this comprehensive guide provides those who are new to teaching science, as well as seasoned teachers looking to enhance their practice, the fundamentals to develop best teaching practices that reflect their students’ experiences and requirements.
Written by experienced science educators, Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Secondary Science provides practical guidance on successful strategies and techniques for teaching science in a way that gives every student the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve at high levels, while providing opportunities to develop their agency and authority in the classroom, ultimately resulting in a positive science identity.
The book is organized around five overarching questions and answers that will help you most thrive in your secondary science classroom:
- How do I build a positive science community?
- How do I structure, organize, and manage my science class?
- How do I engage my students in science?
- How do I help my students talk about science?
- How do I know what my students know and how can I use that information to plan and move them forward?
The book concludes with a sixth question―Where do I go from here?―that provides guidance for growing your practice over time, including discussions on self-care, advocating for students, and an extensive discussion on growing your professional network.
Woven throughout, you′ll find helpful sidebar notes on fostering identity and agency; access and equity; teaching in different settings; and invaluable resources for deeper learning.Strive to become the best science educator you can be; your students are counting on it!
Karen Mesmer, PhD, taught middle and high school science for 33 years in both northwest Alaska and in Baraboo, Wisconsin. After she retired in 2015, she started Mesmer Science Education Consulting, working as a curriculum writer, reviewer, mentor and professional development facilitator focusing on the Next Generation Science Standards. She has been active at the local, state and national levels in professional organizations, including serving as the President of the National Middle Level Science Teachers Association and on the board of both the National Science Teachers Association and the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers. Karen was a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching and the Ron Gibbs Award from the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers for Lifetime Contributions to Science Education in Wisconsin. She has presented at many local, state, and national conferences. Karen was the Module Leader, Contributor and Reviewer for Activate Learning’s IQWST California Edition, a writer for the Wisconsin Science Standards as well as for four Teacher Guides for ONPAR assessment. She has also had articles published in Science Scope and two book chapters in books published by the National Science Teachers AssociationEnya Granados is in her fifth-year teaching as a high school life science teacher in Athens, Georgia. Enya has a passion for curriculum writing and has worked with BSCS Science Learning as a curriculum teacher co-writer on climate change. She is involved in the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) as an active member who presents regularly as well as chairs the organization’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee. Enya was awarded the Knowles Teacher Fellowship in 2018 and NABT’s Outstanding New Biology Teacher in 2021. She has published in Teaching and Teacher Education and the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. Kevin Gant has taught science and mathematics for 18 years, with most of his career focusing on physics education. In his most recent classroom work, he was a founder and the Lead Teacher at nex+Gen Academy, a public project-based high school in Albuquerque, NM. There he taught an Environmental Science and Statistics course from 2012 to 2016. Kevin was an early adopter of Project Based Learning, serving as the physics teacher at New Technology High School in Napa, California, a school at the vanguard of PBL instruction. That position led to his later work at the non-profit New Tech Network (NTN). Kevin has provided professional development and mentorship to teachers and leaders through various organizations, including the University of New Mexico, Sandia National Laboratories, and the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation. Kevin earned a B.S. in Physics from the University of New Mexico, is a National Board Certified Teacher (Physics), and is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching in 2015.Laura Shafer, PhD, is a Senior Program Officer and Academy Instructor for the Knowles Teacher Initiative. She taught high school Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Integrated Science focusing on facilitating student engagement in the practices of science to develop disciplinary knowledge. She designed and implemented curriculum components for a graduate science education methods course for preservice teachers focused on supporting preservice teachers in developing and facilitating lessons in alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards. She provided supervision for pre-service teachers developing and implementing approaches for working individually and collaboratively with resident mentor teachers. She designed and facilitated professional development workshop series for K-12 educators, administrators and language resource personnel to support understanding and implementation of NGSS and integration of CCSS.
Ayanna Perry, PhD, is an Associate Director for the Teaching Fellows Program at the Knowles Teacher Initiative. She has been working in education for over 15 years. She taught high school math courses, as well as college level math education courses. In addition to her work as a teacher, she’s also been working as a teacher mentor and coach for high school science and math teachers. She’s published a number of blogs on issues of equity on the Knowles Teacher Initiative website and articles on technology use in math and on equity in math classes in The Mathematics Teacher- including 7 Features of equitable classroom spaces from her dissertation. She also co-authored Five to Thrive: Answers to Your Biggest Questions about Teaching Secondary Math. She is a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Council for Supervisors of Mathematics, the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, the Benjamin Banneker Association, the Association of Maryland Mathematics Teacher Educators, and TODOS Mathematics for All.
